Pneumatic hammer attachment



y 1930. J. w. BIRDSONG 1,758,822

PNEUMATIC HAMMER ATTACHMENT Filed Aug. .26, 1929 Attorney Patented May 13, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOHN W. BIRDSONG, 0F MERIDIAN, MISSISSIPPI, ASSIGNOE OF ONE-HALF TO NATE S. I

WILLIAMSON AND W. LUTHER CLAYTON, 0F MERIDIAN, MISSISSIPPI PNEUMATIC HAMMER ATTACHMENT I Application filed August 26, 1929. Serial No. 388,596.

This invention relates to pneumatic hammer attachments and more particularly to devices of this character which are adapted to be used for installing reinforcing arms in the ends of railroad cross ties.

It is a common practice to treat railroad cross ties with creosote prior to the installation of the same in the road bed for the purpose of preserving and prolonging the life thereof.

In undergoing creosoting treatment and the heating process incident thereto, there is great danger of the end portion particularly of the tie bursting or splitting and to obviate this, it has been the practice to drive into the ends of said ties a reinforcing element of flexible metal which is substantially S-shaped in configuration and which is driven edgewise into the tie.

These S-arms as they are commonly called are customarily driven into the ends of the cross ties as above stated, by means of ordinary manually operated hammers.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide, in a manner as hereinafter set forth, a device of the aforementioned character which is adapted to be mounted in a conventional pneumatic hammer and which embodies means for gripping and reinforcing arms of the above mentioned type for the purpose of driving the same into the ends of a cross tie.

Other objects of the invention are to provide, in a manner as hereinafter set forth a pneumatic hammer attachment of the aforementioned character which will be simple in construction, strong, durable, efficient in its use, and which may be manufactured at low cost.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. and wherein:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation ofa pneumatic hammer attachment constructed 1n accordance with this invention.

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view thereof,

showing an S-iron mounted therein and ready to be driven into the ends of the cross tie.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the reference character 1 designates generally the handle portion or mounting means for the attachment and includes a hexagonal gripping portion 2, which terminates at its upper end in a circular portion 3 of less diameter than the portion 2. An elongated shank 4: of circular cross section extends upwardly from the portion 3 and is of less diameter, thus providing a shoulder 5 at its point of connection with the portion 3. The shank 4 is adapted to be inserted and clamped in the socket of a conventional pneumatic hammer, in such a manner that the shoulder provided abuts the end of the socketed element of said hammer as will be understood.

The lower end of the hammer portion 1 terminates in a circular portion 6, upon which an annulus 7 is rigidly mounted adjacent the lower end thereof as illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawings. The lower end of the handle 1 is recessed as designated by the reference character 8 and shown in dotted lines in Figure 1 of the drawings and into this recess is inserted a stud or headed shank 9, upon which is mounted a substantially rectangular head plate 10, which engages the lower end of the handle 1. A cotter pin 11 passes transversely through the portion 6 of the handle 1 and the stud 9 for the purpose of retaining same in the recess 8.

An elongated flat strip of spring metal encircles the lower end of the portion 6 of the handle 1 and is interposed between the annulus 7 thereon and the head plate 10, said strip being designated by the reference character 12. The strip 12 terminates longitudinally over the head plate 10 and terminates at its opposite end in downwardly and inwardly directed resilient gripping jaws 13, which are provided with outwardly turned foot portions 14. The reference character 15 designates an S-iron position against the plate 10 and retained thereagainst by the resilient jaws 13.

In the use of the tool, the shank 4 is clamped in the pneumatic hammer and the S-iron 15 is mounted in the jaws 13 against the head plate 10. The iron 15 is then placed edgewise against the end of the cross tie in which it is to be inserted and power is applied to the hammer, thus driving the iron 15 into the cross ties, as will be understood. As the iron 15 enters the tie, the foot portions 14 of the resilient jaws 13 engage said tie and slide the said jaws rearwardly on the S-iron, as will be revealed from a study of Figure 1 of the drawings.

A tool is thus provided, which greatly facilitates the insertion of these reinforcing irons in the ends of the cross ties.

Owing to the size of these reinforcing irons and the hardness of the wood into which same are inserted, the practice heretofore resorted to for inserting same resulted in the loss of material and Waste of labor owing to the fact that many of the irons were bent and thus rendered useless by striking the same,

or a portion thereof with an ordinary hammer.

In the device herein illustrated and described the driving force of the pneumatic hammer is distributed evenly over the entire length of the reinforcing iron, thus eliminating the aforementioned waste of labor and material.

It is believed that the many advantages of a tool constructed in accordance with this invention will be readily understood and although the preferred embodiment of the invention is as illustrated and described, it is to be understood that changes in the details of construction may be had, which will fall within the scope of the invention as claimed.

hat is claimed is:

l. A tool for inserting reinforcing irons, comprising a handle portion, a shank extending therefrom for connecting the same to an operating implement, an annulus on the lower end portion of the handle, a head plate connected to the lower end of the handle, and a pair of resilient gripping jaws mounted on said head plate and retained thereagainst by the annulus.

2. A tool of the character described, comprising a handle portion, means for mounting said handle portion in an actuating implement, said handle portion further being provided at one end with a longitudinal bore, an annulus mounted on said handle portion adjacent its lower end, a head plate engaging the lower end of the handle, a coupling element connected to said head plate and connected with the bore for connecting the plate to the handle, and a pair of resilient jaws mounted on said plate and encircling the handle, said jaws being retained in position on the head plate by the annulus.

3. A tool for inserting reinforcing irons comprising a head plate, means for coupling said head plate to an actuating implement, resilient jaws mounted on said head plate and extendingforwardly therefrom, and outwardly turned foot portions mounted on said jaws and adapted to slidably fit same on a reinforcing iron when the tool is in use.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

JOHN WV. BIRDSONG. 

